77: This is not normal business competition but a crime and must be severely punished.

However, using nuclear energy as a driving force presented a significant challenge for Lu Xingye.

In the real world, while nuclear energy can be utilized, it's mostly for power generation or creating mushroom cloud bombs.

Nuclear reactors are typically very large.

If he wanted to create a miniature reactor, similar to the Ark Reactor, the difficulty would be immense. Not only would he need to develop new high-temperature resistant and heat-insulating materials to sustain nuclear reactions, but also achieve massive technological breakthroughs.

Only then would it be possible to produce an Ark Reactor.

It seemed there was no research in this area in the real world, or if there was, it hadn't made any breakthrough progress.

Essentially, miniature nuclear reactors were a blank slate.

If Lu Xingye wanted to use nuclear energy as the driving force for robots, it meant starting everything from scratch.

However… none of these were problems.

Lu Xingye possessed the most developed brain in this world, coupled with technology from the movie world; what couldn't he develop?

He was full of confidence for the future… The next morning.

Lu Xingye slept until around ten in the morning, and after washing up, as he walked out of the living room, he saw Long Yubing in an apron, making breakfast in the kitchen.

Next to her were two fragrant fried dough sticks, whose scent made one's appetite soar.

“You’re awake?”

Perhaps hearing footsteps behind her, Long Yubing turned her head and gave Lu Xingye a dry smile.

“Actually…”

“Has anyone ever told you that if you smiled more and didn’t always frown, you’d actually be quite good-looking?” Lu Xingye said flirtatiously. He then walked into the kitchen, picked up a fried dough stick with his right hand, and put it into his mouth.

Oily but not greasy!

Crisp and soft!

Delicious!

It had to be said, Long Yubing’s cooking skills were quite good.

Lu Xingye’s recent meals had all been taken care of by Long Yubing. This bodyguard of his could handle the living room, the kitchen, and even fight enemies when out.

Not bad, not bad.

Long Yingtian, you certainly raised a good daughter.

Lu Xingye gave a dry laugh, then sat at the dining table, happily eating breakfast… Beep, beep, beep… His phone vibrated. Lu Xingye picked up his wireless earphones, put them on, and Jarvis’s cold, synthesized electronic voice came through.

【Boss, Zhao Dawei has made a video call. Do you want to answer?】

“Answer.”

As soon as Lu Xingye connected the call, he directly got to the point and asked:

“Dawei, what’s up?”

“Isn’t a mysterious figure from the Chinese Academy of Sciences supposed to come today?”

“Didn’t you go to accompany them?”

“Fourth Brother, I am currently leading the Chinese Academy of Sciences personnel on a tour of the lithography machine production workshop, but… but something went wrong. All 88 lithography machines collectively stopped working.” Zhao Dawei’s voice carried a hint of panic.

Today was precisely the day for the Chinese Academy of Sciences personnel to visit the lithography machines, so why did something go wrong specifically today?

And… it was all eighty-eight lithography machines that had issues.

This… Zhao Dawei keenly sensed something unusual; someone definitely wanted to cause trouble.

“What happened? Tell me slowly.”

Lu Xingye’s right hand, holding the fried dough stick, suddenly stopped, suspended in mid-air. Lithography machines were extremely important for Lu Xingye’s future development, whether for the semiconductor business or the robot chip business.

He would absolutely not allow any mistakes to occur.

“It’s like this.”

“Yesterday, the lithography machines were operating well, but today, as soon as the Chinese Academy of Sciences personnel arrived, the lithography machines collectively stopped. All 5nm chips produced by the lithography machines are defective, not a single good one.”

“The key is that Mr. Xu from Huawei Group, for some unknown reason, also heard this news, and now they are demanding a refund!”

“Don’t panic! I’ll come over and take a look immediately.” Lu Xingye spoke calmly, his face expressionless, showing no hint of emotion.

However… anyone familiar with Lu Xingye knew—

Whenever Lu Xingye showed this expression, it meant he was truly angry. And extremely, extremely angry, the kind that couldn't be appeased… Lu Xingye hung up the phone with a “snap,” no longer caring about breakfast. He grabbed a jacket with his right hand and headed downstairs.

“Let’s go.”

“Depart immediately.”

“To the lithography machine processing plant.”

Seeing Lu Xingye’s serious expression, Long Yubing knew something had happened, so she didn't say anything, picked up the car keys, and followed him downstairs.

About ten minutes later.

Lu Xingye arrived at the lithography machine production workshop.

The workshop was crowded with people, including Suihuo Technology staff and mysterious figures from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Before he even entered, he could hear faint conversations inside.

“I just checked, and the lithography machines have no problems at all. Why can’t they produce good chips now?”

“Could it be that you fundamentally don't have the technology to produce 5nm chips? Were your previous announcements just a marketing ploy?”

“That’s impossible.”

“It’s true.”

“We were still able to successfully produce chips yesterday, we really aren’t lying to you.”

“I believe you on that, but why could you produce chips yesterday and not today? Can you give me a reason? Can anyone explain?”

The lithography machine engineers from Suihuo Technology lowered their heads, looking dejected.

“We don’t know either.”

“We’ve all checked, and the machines have no problems.”

...“You can’t even find problems with your own machines? If that’s the case, I highly doubt the authenticity of your 5nm chip production.” At some point, several media reporters had infiltrated the lithography machine production workshop, holding their cameras and microphones, questioning the Suihuo Technology employees.

At this moment.

Some employee, with particularly sharp eyes, spotted Lu Xingye walking from afar.

“Chairman Lu is here.”

Chairman Lu is here?

Everyone turned their heads and looked towards the entrance, a hint of joy instantly appearing in their eyes, as if seeing this young man was like finding their backbone.

All their previous worries vanished into thin air.

“Hmm.”

“Please make way.”

“I’ll go see what’s going on.”

Lu Xingye passed through the crowd and walked to one of the lithography machines. He checked the lithography machine’s control panel and then its light source, immediately realizing where the problem lay.

The lithography machine’s control program had been maliciously modified.

And the lithography machine’s light source had also been replaced, from an alpha ray light source to a normal violet light source.

Who exactly?

Who exactly was causing sabotage at Suihuo Technology?

Lu Xingye’s heart grew colder and colder.

Maliciously damaging eighty-eight lithography machines was no longer just ordinary business conduct; it was a crime.

The criminals must be severely punished.

Unforgivable… “What happened? Have you found the specific cause?” Long Yingtian walked up to Lu Xingye and asked in a low voice.

If it came to trust, he definitely trusted Lu Xingye.

The collective shutdown of these eighty-eight lithography machines made it obvious to any discerning person that someone had maliciously sabotaged them.

And… the person behind it had targeted the most cutting-edge technology of the most cutting-edge enterprise in Jiuzhou.

Did they have a death wish?

Do you know how angry I am?

Or are they acting as if Jiuzhou doesn't exist?

At this moment, the anger in Long Yingtian’s heart was no less than Lu Xingye’s.